If parents allow their kids to play videogames ever, then the kids behavior is going to be influenced significantly and they will follow the example set in the video game. I happen to have three kids of my own. My eldest son is 16 and he had a PS3 in which he played COD (Call of Duty) Modern Warfare 2. My wife believes that its ok when he gets his stuff done in the first pace. Well my son is very deceitful at times and i was beginning to think and wonder if this would affect is attitude and his grades at his high school. He has always been an average student getting B's and C's. When he played this game, his language, his attitude, and behavior all changed and he was becoming more and more addicted to the game. He said that he played the game only on Saturday's (we didn’t allow him to play during school nights) and that it was an escape for him to get away from the world. My wife and I disagree on many things and sometimes we lose it and start yelling. We argue and try to put our point across. My son takes this very personally and i believe he thinks its his fault. We tell him its not and that parents always get into arguments. This video game was an escape for him and he was always playing it for 2 hours on Saturday. My wife and I made him sell it and get rid of it. His attitude is now more hostile towards us it seems but overall he has a smile on his face more often then not. I think its better to solve problems personally than using a game to get out of a predicament. He is still upset about it but his attitude and behavior is much better than before.

Some people can become completely addicted to video games and they do not go to work (or school), do not eat properly and do not exercise enough.

Playing video games (even on the Wii) does not constitute a proper physical workout.

Some people can become desensitized to violence when they a lot of violent video games. There have been reports of criminals copying violent video game crimes (such as those featured in the controversial Grand Theft Auto series).

Some people may think that taking drugs, getting drunk and smoking are not harmful when they are presented in video games without the characters feeling any effects from their behavior.

Can give people false expectations of real life, as real life cannot be perfectly simulated by video games.

Arguments
I thank Pro for instigating this debate. I sympathize with what he currently deals with, although I do not entirely agree with the resolution. While it is true that video games can cause bad behavior, they do not do so by what their standards put forth. We know that food is essential, yet it can make people lazy, ill, etc. It all depends on how and when a person consumes the essential product, i.e., food. Similarly, video games can cause bad behavior, but they do not necessarily do so.

As a matter of fact, video games come with a lot of benefits to people. There are a lot of educational video games, and they even deal with brain exercises, which can improve memory, reaction time, creativeness, etc. Socialization is also a benefit of video games. A lot of games deal with massive multiplayer gaming, which lets people all around the world communicate with each other, solve in-game problems, and so forth. This can lead to benefits for the players because they learn how to interact with others, they learn how to cope with people who have different views and cultural backgrounds, and those are just a few benefits among many.

Pro said that playing video games is not proper physical workout. It is true in most cases, but not all. The Wii is actually a very good gaming console when it comes to physical activity. Even the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have adapted a similar feature to the one of Nintendo Wii. The Move of PS3 and Kinect of X360 allow players to be physically active while they have fun with gaming. It is particularly entertaining when playing with family members. On top of that, this is just a little part of what comes next with gaming consoles. People might become far more active when playing gaming consoles than we even wish to think of. We need to hand more time to development of physical-movement gaming.

My opponent mentioned that some people can be negatively influenced by video games, and get to thinking that drugs, alcohol, and smoking are rather fun instead of dangerous. I do, sincerely, not disagree. However, we are being influenced in such negative ways by numerous other factors rather than just some video games. The Internet flows with sites commercializing intoxicants, and the same applies to television. Even a site like this is filled with content that promotes usage of drugs and alcohol. So, are video games really that bad when we compare them to all the other "evils" that promote negative behavior?

It is complicated to answer it with a few words. However, if they are played in moderation, i.e., not too much so that a person isolates himself from society, avoids doing homework etc., and the parents learn how to guide their kids properly by learning about modern technology (in this case, parental control), then we will not deal with too many problems related to video games. They have their cons, but they also have a lot of pros.

To summarize, video games are not inherently bad. It depends on how a person makes use of them. If a child lives under healthy circumstances, such as with caring and stable parents, then it is not very likely that he will become violent due to video games. He will perceive the gaming experience as fun, and he will not fall in love with a virtual world because he does not wish for something better in his life. But, a person who hates the world, is not being taken care of by his parents, and so forth, he will maybe connect himself more to the virtual world, and perhaps perceive the violence within as something that should be applied to real life.

Pro's resolution is reasonably interpreted as meaning that in general video games cause bad behavior. Pro only argues that it caused bad behavior in his son, and even that wasn't very convincing. It came across more that parents arguing caused bad behavior. Con pointed out the faulty generalization. Forfeiting loses conduct.

Incidentally, the new RFD box feature of ddo has the disadvantage of making the RFDs more difficult to see. I think they ought to be copied automatically into the comments.

Reasons for voting decision: Pro's resolution is reasonably interpreted as meaning that in general video games cause bad behavior. Pro only argues that it caused bad behavior in his son, and even that wasn't very convincing. It came across more that parents arguing caused bad behavior. Con pointed out the faulty generalization. Fprfeiting loses conduct.